By Annabelle Blair | Contributor
The results are in: junior Joshua Clement will serve as the 2018-2019 student body president (SBP), and junior Julia Noonan as the student body vice president (SBVP). The candidates defeated running mates juniors Abby Crosley and Nate Dehmlow by 56 votes.
"We have the utmost respect for the other candidates for simply having the courage that it takes to run for this position," Clement and Noonan said. "We are confident that this won't prevent them from making a profound difference on this campus in the future."
With 604 total votes, Clement and Noonan received 330, and Crosley and Dehmlow received 274.
Crosley and Dehmlow thanked their supporters and said they appreciated the opportunity to learn about themselves and Taylor throughout the campaign process. "Congratulations to Josh and Julia - we admire their hearts for campus and look forward to seeing them develop their platform!" Crosley and Dehmlow said.
Clement said his journey toward running for SBP began when he was asked to serve on executive cabinet last year. Both he and Noonan agreed that they are very grateful the student body has chosen them to hold this position.
"I think it's really humbling in a way to know that the student body has picked you to represent them," Clement said. "It's kind of nervously exciting to know that next year we'll represent more than ourselves."
Voting took place online through the student portal on Wednesday from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. The results were announced to candidates by current seniors SBP Chin Ai Oh and SBVP Noah Nemni at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Clement and Noonan ran on the premise of building and strengthening relationships on campus with their platform of creation and fortification.
"Taylor is made great by the people who make it up," Clement and Noonan said in their platform, "And we want to create spaces that allow people to smile together as well as to have hard conversations with each other."
Both Clement and Noonan are juniors at Taylor; Clement is majoring in computer science and systems with minors in mathematics and physics, and Noonan is majoring in chemistry with a minor in mathematics. Clement is from Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Noonan is from Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Together, the pair has a wide range of experience serving within Taylor organizations, including the Office of Intercultural Programs, Taylor Student Organizations, O-groups and Residence Life.
They decided to run for office because they identified room for growth in the ways students interact with each other and with administration.
"We love Taylor and will primarily be leaders who listen first, think second and speak last in order to best represent students to the administration as well as the administration to the students," Clement and Noonan said in their platform.
Clement and Noonan's next steps include hiring their cabinet, and they welcomed students to apply for TSO. Applications are currently open and can be completed online at www.surveymonkey.com/r/leadapp2018. Executive cabinet applications are due March 15.
Either Clement or Noonan will be attending a student government summit at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle for training.
